SHE IS NOT ALONE by Sonic Youth tab by Chris Lawrence (silvercircle@shaw.ca) A SECTION 00:00-01:28 Thurston may have used standard tuning on the original recording, but he typically used F#F#F#F#EB for live versions when they started playing it again in 1999. He places a drumstick under the strings between the neck pickup and neck joint, and uses his left hand to push on the strings on the fretboard side of the drumstick to slightly modulate while he plays, giving the notes a plinky shimmer. You can also recreate this effect by tweaking the drumstick slightly while you're picking. I'm just going to list all of Thurston's picking patterns regardless of "section". The only real difference between section A and B is when Kim changes her bassline. Thurston is in the middle of pattern #5 when this happens. Thurston figure #1 (00:00-00:35) E-------------------------------------- B---------------------------------X-X-- G---X-X-X-X-------------X-X-X-X-------- x 3 D-------------X-X---------------------- A-------------------------------------- E-------------------------------------- Thurston figure #2 (00:35-00:44) E-------------------------------------- B---X--------X------------------------- G---X--------X--------X-------X-------- D---X--------X--------X-------X-------- A---------------------X-------X-------- E-------------------------------------- Thurston figure #3 (00:44-01:04) E----------------------------------------------------------X---------X---------X----- B-------------------------------------------X---------X----X----X----X----X----X----- G---X----X----X----X----X----X----X----X----X----X----X---------X---------X---------- D---X----X----X----X----X----X----X----X---------X----------------------------------- A------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ E------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thurston figure #4 (01:04-01:12) E---X----X----X----X----X----X----X----X---- B------------------------------------------- G------------------------------------------- D------------------------------------------- A------------------------------------------- E------------------------------------------- Thurston figure #5 (01:13-01:56) E-------------------------X------------X---X-X------------------------- B------X--------------X-----X--------X---X--------------X-------------- repeat picking pattern simile G----X---X----------X---X-----------------------------X---X------------ D----------X------------------------------------------------X-X-------- A-------------X-X--------------X-X--------------X-X---------------X-X-- E-------------X-X--------------X-X--------------X-X---------------X-X-- Thurston figure #6 (01:57-02:09) E------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- G------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- D------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A-------X-X-----------X-X-----------X-X------------X-X----------X-X---------X-X------- E-------X-X-----------X-X-----------X-X------------X-X----------X-X---------X-X------- Lee's verse riff: E------------------ B------------------ G------------------ lee starts by playing harmonic accents like this D------------------ around 00:15 A--------<7>------- E---<12>-----<7>--- sometimes the low E gets played A minute in he starts playing this: E-------------------------- B-------------------------- G-------------------------- D-------------------------- A---7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-- etc palm mute note E-------------------------- Kim's riff: G---------------------------------- D---------------------------------- you can play note or harmonic @ 12th fret A---------------------------------- you can also play 16th fret harmonic @ 9th fret E---<12>----<16>----<12>----<16>--- B SECTION 01:28-04:03 Thurston continues picking figure #5 and eventually #6. He does not play while he sings. Lee switches slightly: E---------------------------------- B---------------------------------- G---------------------------------- D---------------------------------- A---7-7-7-7-5-5--5\7--7-7-7-7-7-7-- etc .. keep palm muting w/ occasional slides from the D note E---------------------------------- When Thurston starts singing, he adds another accent: E-------------------------------------------------------------- these are all approximate lengths B-------------------------------------------------------------- you can listen to hear when he changes G-------------------------------------------------------------- D---------------------7-9-------------------------------------- after a while he stops playing the notes A---7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-7-5-5--5\7--7-7-7-7-7-- on the D string E-------------------------------------------------------------- Kim plays: G-------------------------------- D-------------------------------- A-------------------------------- E---16-x-x-16-x-x-16-x-x-16-x-x-- the x's are muted harmonics around the 15th fret When they revived the song in 1999, they gave it a slight rearrangement: - Kim now played a single B note during the entire song. - Thurston used F#F#F#F#EB w/ a drumstick. He mostly plays "figure #5" or random strikes. - Lee changed his part considerably, playing leads in GGDDGG w/ a capo at the 4th fret, so BBF#F#BB. Instead of ending after a single verse, they doubled the song's structure, playing another lengthy instrumental and verse to conclude the song. The second part is usually aggressively noisy, with Lee utilizing his ring modulator and Thurston really digging in with the drumstick. I love this version of the song! In 2000 and early 2001, they changed the key to F#. In April 2001 it was shifted to G, and stayed that way for a while, flip-flopping back and forth from F# to G during its few appearances in the set between 2002 and 2009. At some point, Lee switched his tuning to F#F#GGAA, probably when the song is played in F#. When it's played in G, he may be using GGDDGG with no capo. 1999 bassline: G-------------------------------- D-------------------------------- A-------------------------------- E---19-x-x-19-x-x-19-x-x-19-x-x-- Lee mostly plays harmonics at the 5th or 12th frets, or just open strings. There is one shuffle he does (remember CAPO @ 4th FRET): G---------------------------- G---------------------------- D-------2-2-3-3-4-4\5-5-5-5-- D-------2-2-3-3-4-4\5-5-5-5-- G---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-- G---0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-- vocal melody: G------------------- G------------------- D---5-6-5-3-5------- D---5-6-5-3-5------- G--------------3-0-- G--------------3-0-- F# bassline: G-------------------------------- D-------------------------------- A-------------------------------- E---14-x-x-14-x-x-14-x-x-14-x-x-- G bassline: G-------------------------------- D-------------------------------- A---17-----17-----17-----17------ (this string not always played) E---15-x-x-15-x-x-15-x-x-15-x-x-- ------------------------------------------------ THE SONIC YOUTH GUITAR/BASS TABLATURE ARCHIVE: http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/tab/index.html ------------------------------------------------